| People older than 50 and people who are immunocompromised above the age of 12 can now opt for a second booster, federal agencies said Tuesday. While fully vaccinated and boosted people are still well-protected against severe outcomes, the option for an additional shot may bolster immunity for people whose antibodies may wane faster and who are more likely to suffer severe illness.
Do scientists agree that everyone needs a fourth shot? How long does protection last? My colleague Salvador Rizzo and I spoke with infectious-disease experts to answer frequently asked questions about second boosters.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that the 1.3 million adults who had the Johnson & Johnson shot followed by a J&J booster consider getting a dose of an mRNA vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. That guidance followed a study published Tuesday that found people who received an mRNA booster had much stronger protection against hospitalization than those who had received only the J&J shot.
The White House launched a "one-stop-shop" website called covid.gov that connects people to vaccines, tests, treatments and masks. President Biden announced the new site Wednesday and then swiftly received his second booster shot on camera, telling reporters the jab "didn't hurt a bit." The president used his remarks to again appeal to Congress to provide $22 billion to fund the nation's ongoing covid response. The administration is encouraging schools, businesses and homeowners to boost air quality indoors to prevent covid from spreading as people return to work and school, often without masks. Most people catch the virus through tiny airborne particles, and better ventilation can help prevent transmission. Covid has been creeping closer to Biden in the past two weeks. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin tested positive after spending 7½ minutes speaking to the president in mid-March, and Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, tested positive last week. Another Biden spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, took Psaki's place and then tested positive Sunday after returning from a trip. Other important news The Ukraine invasion may put an end to Russian hopes for its Sputnik V covid vaccine, which had high efficacy, as other countries enforce sanctions against the nation. Supply shortages during the pandemic left chronically ill and disabled people scrambling to find the medical supplies they need to survive. My colleagues Yasmeen Abutaleb, Lenny Bernstein and Fenit Nirappil answered your questions about the BA.2 variant, second boosters and the state of the pandemic. Twenty-one states sued the Biden administration over federally-mandated mask requirements on airplanes, buses and subways. | 